Tek Travels Pvt Ltd, a Naspers-backed company which runs business-to-business portal Travel Boutique Online, has bought a stake in the camping business of budget hotel aggregator Deyor Rooms.
Travel Boutique and Deyor Camps, run by Deyor Adventures Pvt Ltd will cross-sell each other’s offerings and products as per the deal, according to a press statement. It didn’t disclose the deal amount or the size of the stake Travel Boutique bought, saying only that it is a “strategic†stake.
South African media conglomerate Naspers-owned MIH Group had acquired a majority stake in Gurgaon-based Travel Boutique in 2012. The B2B portal was started in 2006 and provides air and train tickets, besides hotels, visa enquiry and travel insurance services. It works with about 19,000 travel agents.
Deyor Camps was founded by Dheeraj Jain, Chirag Gupta, Aakaar Gandhi and Gautam Yadav to tap into demand for adventure travel in India. Its camps focus on adventure activities such as paragliding and trekking. The startup claims to have sent 10,000 people for camping during its first quarter of operations, which started in early March.
Travel Boutique said the deal will enable its partners to sell branded campsites at about 45 locations in India. Deyor Camps said the deal will allow it to strengthen its leadership position in the camping and adventure travel market.
Jain, who is also an angel investor and partner at UK-based hedge fund Redcliffe Capital, said Deyor Camps has become the preferred travel partner for backpacker groups and biker groups travelling in the northern Himalayan region.
Deyor Camps said it also aims at expanding into countries in South and Southeast Asia to benefit from demand for alternate accommodation. It has signed three-year exclusive contracts with over 100 main campsites in 45 locations and aims to have 300 campsites by the end of the year.
Alternative accommodation such as campsites, homestays and paying guest accommodation are gaining traction among budget hotel aggregators. Wudstay Travels Pvt Ltd, which started as a budget hotel aggregator, recently ventured into paying guests and retirement homes segments to strengthen its portfolio. SoftBank-backed budget hotel aggregator Oyo has started offering holiday packages while online travel agency MakeMyTrip plans to get into homestays and tented accommodation.
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